The present invention relates to a medical imaging device which includes a central control unit and a number of peripheral apparatus which communicate with the central control unit.
Devices of this kind are known for a variety of applications in various technical fields. One example in this respect is a medical device for generating images of a patient, for example, in order to make a diagnosis or to provide assistance during a surgical intervention. In the interest of the patient a medical device of this kind should satisfy very severe requirements with respect to safety.
A medical imaging device of the kind set forth includes large amounts of hardware and software. For example, the central control unit is often formed by a personal computer or a workstation with software. Commercially available products are used to an increasing extent for this purpose. The amount of software necessary to control a personal computer increases every year. Because software is never completely correct or bug free, the risk of failure of the central processing unit due to a software error increases as the amount of software increases. The hardware also has a limited service life only and defects occurring therein may lead to a breakdown of the central control unit. The central control unit may become inoperative for short or long periods of time, depending on the cause. This may have detrimental effects on the safety of the patient, because the central control unit controls the peripheral apparatus which include medical imaging equipment in the present example, for example, X-ray equipment.